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Not all experts in Accident Reconstruction are equal. Typically, a choice must be made between an expert with a background in law enforcement, little or no formal education in science or engineering, with on-scene accident investigation experience; or, an engineer/scientist with extensive education, but little or no experience at an active accident scene.
There are advantages and disadvantages with both kinds of experts. If you retain Paul Moore as your expert, you won’t have to choose. With a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and also experience as a Detective investigating major accidents in a large city, Paul can have a better understanding of the initial investigation performed by a police officer, who is typically the first responder to an accident; but he can also analyze the accident using sophisticated analytical methods, with a deep understanding of the science behind the analysis.
During his 20 year career, Paul has investigated a variety of accidents, including those involving automobiles, pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, and commercial vehicles. Paul has also performed hundreds of low-speed accident analyses and testified as a trial expert in accident reconstruction on numerous occasions.
Paul is also an FAA-licensed Unmanned Aircraft Systems (drone) pilot, which allows him to use the Moore Forensics high-performance drone to fly over and photograph accident scenes in order to document the roadway and any evidence remaining from the accident, such as tire marks, debris patterns, etc. This significantly decreases the time spent documenting an accident site while increasing the amount of information gathered, and the quality of the data.
If you need assistance with an accident investigation, please call Moore Forensics at 253-642-7275, or email moore@mooreforensics.com.
All modern vehicles are equipped with airbags. When an airbag-equipped vehicle is involved in a collision, the "brain" of the airbag system - the airbag control module (ACM) - gathers information from various sensors in the vehicle in order to decide whether to deploy one or more of the airbags in the vehicle. This data can include vehicle speed, change of velocity, braking, RPM's, seat position, and a wealth of other data. Whether or not a deployment actually occurs, the data that was considered is stored in the ACM. That information can be imaged and copied using special equipment. In most cases, the imaging process is as simple as copying the information from the ACM into a laptop computer using the vehicle's diagnostic port. In cases of extreme vehicle damage, the ACM has to be recovered from the vehicle and the imaging can be done in an office.
Depending on the vehicle model, ACM data may include vehicle speed and change of velocity, brakes on or off, engine speed, seatbelt information, steering wheel position, and a host of other data that can be very helpful in an accident investigation.
It's important to know that in the cases where no actual deployment occurred, the ACM data is transient and can be erased if the vehicle is involved in even a very minor collision, so any imaging should be undertaken as soon as possible.
Moore Forensics has the expertise and equipment to download an airbag module. Please contact Paul Moore for a consultation and determine if your vehicle's airbag information can be imaged.
Below is an example of the data that may be available by imaging an airbag control module:
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